Evaporation duct estimation from clutter using meteorological statistics

Many of the lower atmospheric maritime radar systems have to operate under ducting conditions. Electromagnetic ducts result in non-standard electromagnetic propagation which can fundamentally change the performance of the system that is designed to operate under standard atmospheric conditions. Therefore, it is essential to know the environment (the atmospheric refractivity) in which the radar is operating. Techniques that estimate the atmospheric refractivity profile from radar clutter returns is called refractivity from clutter (RFC) techniques. A typical RFC inversion would work by finding an environment whose simulated clutter pattern matches the radar measured one. This paper addresses how to incorporate meteorological statistics into evaporative duct estimation within a Bayesian framework.